The show is now only a memory, but what a
wonderful memory it is! The show exceeded our expectations and really came
into its own. With over 125 attendees, almost 50 tables of stuff for sale,
trade and display, the show really grew! For a complete look at the show,
including a ton of pictures, CLICK
HERE to see the full
coverage!

By the way, we are planning on having
the show
a little earlier next year. We are looking at a late May date, so
as not
to compete with the Jagfest. This way, it will be a good month
from the
Phillyclassic and a month away from the Jagfest. So mark your
calendars and prepare to attend another fun show!

Last month, I gave a review of a new MAME
joystick called the Devastator. Creator Jim Krych, a fellow
Clevelander, dropped it off at my house for a good week to test. I
was quite impressed with it and last month's review should attest to that.
But alot of people wanted to know more. How much does it cost? When
will it be available? Will it be Macintosh compatible? Well, I can
answer all three of those questions and more for you! The cost will be
$450.00 before shipping, it is available now and there will be an adapter to
make it Macintosh compatible!

Now I am sure you will want to know where to
find out more and where to possibly order the joystick, right? To show you
how impressed I was with the stick, I have given Jim some webspace to promote it
and will help with the orders. Since I am already set up for credit cards,
it is much easier for him.

If you want more information about the
Devastator and to see more pictures of the bad boy, then CLICK
HERE!

Millions and millions of Atari systems have
been sold over the years. Tens of thousands are still in use. Supply is
plentiful. Anyone that wants one can get one. Blah, blah, blah.

That’s good news for any classic gaming fan.
A quick look at ebay shows over 2000 Atari 2600 items listed. Most are going for
reasonable, heck, even cheap, prices.

Chances are, if you are reading this, you
already have an Atari 2600, lots of games and plenty of controllers.

Chances are, you are still finding Atari carts
at flea markets, thrift stores and yard sales.

Chances are, you are still paying very little
for these items.

Is there anything that is going to change that
?

Maybe.

Having been at the Philly Classic show and
hearing about the one in Cleveland last month, I believe that there is something
in the air that may change the way our hobby operates. Maybe not as much as ebay
did, but significantly none the less.

During the last couple of years, shows have
popped up. Electronicon in Philadelphia a few years ago had a couple of dozen
attendees. The Philly Classic Show drew well over 200 this year. The show in
Cleveland basically quadrupled their attendance in a single year. The Classic
Gaming Expo (<http://www.cgexpo.com
/>) in Las Vegas started as the World of Atari in 1998 and has tripled the
amount of space it uses since it began. This show has also become the place for
classic gaming developers to announce new items. It is literally becoming the
classic gamer’s equivalent to E3.

So what does this mean to us as collectors and
players ?

Over the next few years…

I believe that you, as a collector, will be
buying and selling a lot of your stuff at a show.

I believe that you, as a player, will be
buying new and fun classic game carts at these shows.

I believe that collectors, players and yes,
profiteers will begin to accumulate things with the sole purpose of taking it to
shows.

I believe that more and more collectors and
players will network at these shows and will widen their connections when it
comes to classic gaming.

I believe that there will be more shows,
regionally and locally organized, with a single “large” gathering once a
year.

And I believe that this will change things
significantly.

And if you disagree, just wait. You can tell
me how much you disagree with me when I see you at the show…

(Fred has been playing games for over 25 years
and actively collecting them for over 10. The 2500 + games that he has takes up
most of his home office and living room. He lives in Denver, PA with his
understanding wife Jennie, his 5 year-old, button-loving son, Max and his soon
to be 2 year old, 4th player, Lynzie. Fred can be reached at fcw3@postoffice.ptd.net)

I’ve been an Atari 2600 fan since childhood,
and I’ve seen too many games that never got the credit they deserved. Maybe it’s
because their graphics turned people off, or maybe they just didn’t live up to
their arcade counterpart. Whatever the reason, the purpose of this article is to
highlight Atari 2600 games that never seemed to get the praise they deserved.
For more classic game reviews, check out my site at
www.videogamecritic.net.
And if you have any comments, don’t hesitate to send me an email at dmrozek3@home.net.

Donkey Kong (Coleco
1981) B-
The Atari 2600 version of Donkey Kong has been subject to an inordinate amount
of ridicule over the years, which is a bit unfair. Granted, there are only two
screens, but keep in mind that even the more advanced versions on other consoles
only had three screens (at most). And the two that are included are very well
done, with excellent control and flicker-free graphics. Sure, the ape and
fireballs are cheesy looking, but at least Mario looks good. The main problems
with this game are the sparse sound effects and only one skill level.

Galaxian (Atari 1983)
A-This classic space shooter is similar to Space Invaders, but features
improved visuals and dive-bombing aliens. The 2600 version is impressive, with
multi-colored aliens, excellent sound effects, and the same intense action found
in the arcade game. There aren’t quite as many aliens in the formations, but
they are more spaced out and tougher to hit. Galaxian features nine skill
levels, providing more than enough challenge. I only wish they hadn’t
programmed that cheesy orange border around the screen.

Dodge Em (Atari 1980)
B-
This highly underrated game looks plain, but don’t be deceived. Dodge Em is a
very cool game. You race your car around a screen with four concentric squares
filled with dots. The trick is to evade the crash car that is driving around the
maze in the opposite direction. Avoiding the crash car requires quick thinking
and good reflexes. The one player game, which usually only lasts about a minute,
is surprisingly hard and strangely addicting. There is also a two-player mode in
which a friend can control the crash car. Dodge Em is like a fast paced Pac-man.
Don’t be turned off by the minimal graphics.

Pressure Cooker (Activision 1983) AThis is one of those games that really justifies holding on to your old 2600
console. Pressure Cooker is fun, original, and even makes you think! The idea
behind the game is that you are a cook with a list of orders. You need to catch
condiments (tomatoes, cheese, lettuce, onions) and make hamburgers to order.
When one is done, you must drop it down the correct chute. The neat thing about
this game is that you can build several burgers at once, juggling the condiments
while trying to keep track of the orders. The graphics are top notch and the
kitchen is well designed. Your chef looks great and the condiments are easy to
differentiate. Even the control is perfect. This game was widely overlooked,
which is too bad, because it's great! It’s the next best thing to working at
McDonalds.

Centipede (Atari
1983) A-I know what you’re thinking. Yes, I know. The graphics absolutely
SUCK in this version of Centipede. There’s no getting around that. The
mushrooms are little red squares, and your cannon is a big red square.
Unquestionably, Atari should have put less effort into that fancy title screen
and more into the in-game graphics. But in spite of the graphics, there’s
simply no denying the awesome gameplay. The action is intense, and all of the
elements of the original arcade game are included. The bugs look okay, although
the centipede flickers quite a bit. Joystick control is fine, but using a
track-ball is even more enjoyable. Centipede triumphs despite its poor graphics,
thanks to the super fun gameplay.

Stampede (Activision
1981) A-This is one of the most underrated Atari 2600 games of all time. You
control a cowboy on a horse moving up and down the screen trying to lasso cattle
approaching from the right. If a group of cattle starts to fall behind you, you
can nudge them forward to buy yourself some extra time. When you let three
cattle pass you, the game is over. The concept behind this game is very
original; I’ve never seen another game like it. It’s also extremely
challenging and addicting. And it seems like every time you play, you get a
little better.

Boxing (Activision
1980) A-
People either love or hate this game. The simplistic graphics feature an
overhead view of a boxing ring with a black and a white boxer. These guys look
pretty goofy, but at least they’re easy to discern. One or two players can
pound each other during two minutes of intense boxing action. Despite the simple
controls, there is some subtle strategy involved. You can keep your distance
with jabs, or go in for some ferocious combinations. Close bouts are a riot. The
tension and excitement build as the last few seconds tick down. Will the boxer
who’s ahead stay aggressive, or try to waste some time? On the down side, this
game can make your thumb very sore. There are two speed settings. Never bet on
the white guy.

Steeplechase (Sears
1980) C+This Sears-exclusive game makes for some surprisingly good
four-player fun. I pulled this one out when some friends were over, and we had a
ball! Four horses run across the screen jumping hurdles of various sizes. Using
the paddle controllers, you adjust the height and timing of each jump. It's not
easy. The first horse to make it to the right hand side wins. There are three
computer skill levels, but playing against three friends is the main draw. The
primary fault with this game is that the jump height indicator is on the far
right, and it's tough to keep an eye on both that and your horse. But if you’re
looking for some four-player action, Steeplechase is worth checking out.

Crystal Castles (Atari 1985) AAtari deserves a lot of credit for squeezing this elaborate arcade
game into a 2600 cartridge. You control a cute little bear trying to collect all
of the dots on the screen. There are a surprisingly large number of attractive,
pseudo-3D stages. Your bear is faced with an army of colorful, detailed enemies
including crystal balls, walking trees, gem eaters, bees, ghosts, skeletons, and
witches. Not only did the programmers capture the look and feel of this game,
but all of the familiar sound effects and tunes are also included. Impressive!
As icing on the cake, there are eight difficulty levels and functioning
difficulty switches. Joystick control is good, but the arcade version had a
track ball. How well does that work? Well, it's a mixed bag. While the track
ball does allow for more exact control, movement is sluggish, making your arm do
a lot more work. You’ll probably want to use a joystick.

Dragonfire (Imagic 1982) A
I don’t know about you, but I can’t resist a game with castles and dragons.
And I can’t say enough good things about the graphics in this game! Everything
is high resolution and multi-colored. You character is at least four colors, and
the dragons really do look like dragons! (Adventure fans will appreciate that).
The treasure is so beautifully detailed that it’s actually worth risking your
life for. The game alternates between two screens. In the first, you try to
cross the castle bridge by ducking under and jumping over fireballs headed your
way. The responsive controls even allow you to jump while kneeling. Kids, please
don’t try this at home! It sure looks goofy, but it’s saved my ass many
times. The second screen is full of treasure that you attempt to grab as the
dragon at the bottom of the screen hurls fireballs at you. The castles and
dragons have a nice variety of color schemes, and the challenge ramps nicely.
This is my easily my favorite Imagic game, and one of my favorite Atari 2600
titles overall.

Stargate (Atari 1984)
A
Stargate, also known as Defender II, is a far cry from its predecessor, one of
the most disappointing Atari 2600 carts of all time. Fortunately the programmers
at Atari learned quite between programming the original Defender (1982) and this
masterpiece. Stargate’s graphics are high resolution, the animation is smooth,
and the sound effects are arcade quality. Better yet, no game features were
sacrificed. In a wise design decision, the second joystick is used to activate
smart bombs, inviso-shield, and hyperspace. All the enemies are present with
minimal flicker. It’s actually difficult to believe you’re playing an Atari
2600 game! This took the 2600 to the limit.

This classic platform game is one of the
top-ten all-time most "ported" classic video games on 8 classic home
systems - all made by Parker Brothers!. Tied for ninth on my 2000 classic home
video games list see: http://members.core.com/~hewston/2000VG.html

Popeye is a frustrated hero who is only
allowed to defend himself, save for once per round where he grabs his can of
spinach and fights back. I'd love to go a whack Brutus more than just once a
round, but any contact with him (sans Spinach power), and you're sent overboard.
On each round (screen), there are 4 different floors (platforms) #1 through #4,
where #1 is at the top. In all 3 rounds, Olive Oyl, throws tokens from the top
of the screen that you must collect. Hearts, then musical notes, then X's (smootches),
and you must catch all 16 to 24 (varying with version and round) to complete the
round. Brutus chases Popeye around the screen, and although he cannot access
floor #1, he can jump upwards and grab Popeye, or reach or jump down to any
floor below. On all rounds, and all floors, Sea Hag can throw bottles inwards
towards Popeye from the left and/or right edges of the screen. Popeye can either
move away from them or punch them and score points. Get hit and you lose a life.
Brutus can also throw bottles at you, most often in combo with the Sea Hag. Time
is also your enemy as you must collect the tokens before they sink beneath the
water. After swaying left and right during their fall, the tokens will
eventually hit the water, where a warning song is played - telling you that your
time is almost up.

Round 1, Sweet Hearts: All floors but #1
extend all the way across the screen. Floor #1 has a "THRU" ledge or
tunnel, that permits you to leave the left/right side of the screen and enter
the other. Brutus cannot use this THRU. The other floors all have diagonal
stairs going down/up at the edges. Floor #2 has a down ladder, which only Popeye
can use. On the Atari 8bit, 4200, C64 and CV, once you move done, you fall down
all the way. The other ports allow you to descend part way, duck a bottle or
confuse Brutus and then come back up. Floor #1 has a punching bag in the middle
that you can punch. A well-timed punch will send the punching bag into a large
barrel (hanging there), and upset it so that it falls straight down. Time your
punch just right and trap Brutus inside the barrel. This will score you some
bonus points and keep Brutus busy for a few seconds. Once used, the barrel only
reappears if you lose a life.

Just as in the cartoons, Popeye's can of
spinach will save the day. Once eaten, the Popeye theme will play, and if you
chase down Brutus before the music ends, you score 3000 points. In round 1, the
spinach randomly appears along the far left side of floors #2 and #3. In all
rounds, there is only one can of spinach available.

Round 2, Love Notes: Olive now tosses out love
notes. The THRU ledge is on floor #2. A sea-saw is at the left edge of the
screen on the bottom of floor #4, upon which you can jump down from #3 and
bounce up to #1 or #2. #1 is reached only if you time it right to touch Sweat
Pea (or equivalent) hanging above floor #1. The spinach will be found on the
sea-saw, but can only be retrieved while walking on floor #4.

Round 3, X's X's and more X's: Olive now sends
out X's, or Smootches. Instead of a THRU ledge, floor #1 now has a large gap,
that can be traversed via a slider. Step and slide over to the other side, or
step and fall through to floor #2. Floors #2 & #3 have openings that only
Popeye can use to move to the next lower floor, whereas Brutus walks on air
crossing them. The spinach can be found randomly moving from far left to far
right side on floor #4. Watch out for the Sea Hag’s swooping Vulture attack,
but enjoy the thrill of punching a vulture at 1000 points a pop.

Version Differences - Some versions have
differences, that impact the Gameplay, but not too much: faster falling tokens
on the C64; Brutus reaches down first, before jumping down, or cannot just jump
down anywhere, Sweat Pea is missing completely or is not seen but there is still
a bonus; the Atari 2600 round two has 2 trampolines instead of a sea-saw;
Vultures may be missing; Bonus lives vary at 30K and 40K; ladders are an all or
nothing move up/down - so learn each version - if the move is manual, or
automatic.

[Wife Q: Why do I need ALL these versions? A:
To be able to write the “Many Faces of . . . ” ]

Disqualified: Odyssey II (N/A)Being pretty much released
overseas, this ER cart will not be in many of your libraries - which is the main
reason I’ve disqualified it. Popeye alone will not justify me buying the O2
multi-cart. But the Digital Press guide notes that the Olive Oyl “Scalding”
animation is present, and Brutus has acquired vomiting-power!!! Basing my
experience playing the O2 version of Q*bert, dare I say one of the
"better" O2 releases, Popeye, if done as well, would still have no
chance to medal in this field. I would, however, expect it to be one of the best
10 games available on the O2.

We're Not Worthy:
Intellivision (29), Atari 2600 (31)
At first glance the Intellivision port looks OK with decent (6) Graphics, but
then you immediately hear the sound effects that are only adequate (4) at best.
In fact all the sounds are down right irritable and annoying to the point that
you want to kill the sick bird. The Gameplay is good (6), but really just has
the basic elements with no pause or any options added. I penalized this score as
Brutus is just too darn fast, making the game have more a dumb luck factor
taking away from the strategy or Gameplay. The Controls are very good (7), and
are take a lot longer to master the skills of punching and changing directions
near the stairs and ladders. The Addictiveness is good (6), and it makes a great
addition to the otherwise small Intellivision arcade library.

The Atari 2600 had no chance here mostly due
to the mediocre Graphics (5) and Gameplay (5). The Graphics are almost too dark
to play the second round, and the Gameplay lacks any options, and is missing too
much. The Sound is decent (6), and the Addictiveness is good (6) enough to bring
you back for more. The Controls are outstanding (9). I did not give any 10's
this month, as I find that even though if you master the Controls to any version
of Popeye, there is still a programming element or complexity to punching and
climbing those ladders and stairs that makes you err a bit too often.

The Top 5:
To speed things up, let's take the remaining 5 versions and compare the
categories individually. The Controls are superb (9) on the C64, Atari 8 bit,
but only very nice (8) on the TI and CV, and then only if using a better stick
than the standard controller. The 5200 is generously given a (7) as you'll be
resetting this game over and over again due to the controller back-stabbing you.
They work smoothly and seem great for a while, but then all-of-the-sudden you
can't guarantee that you'll be standing still to throw a clean punch in
self-defense. Any time you want to go down you need to push down, re-center,
then down, re-center . . . for every stair. The Addictiveness and Sound are nice
(8) for all versions save the 5200 which I had to knock down to (7) - you may
get addicted to the reset button (I did) thinking that you'll actually figure
out the faulty controls. The Graphics are very good (7) for the 5200 and 8bit;
crisp (8) for the C64 and CV; and outstanding (9) for the TI. The CV Graphics
are outstanding like the TI, but there is an obvious sprite detection problem
that cannot be ignored. The Gameplay for all 7 ports have almost no additions
from the arcade, but is very good (7) for the C64, 8bit, and TI; and even more
enjoyable (8) on both the CV (adding starting rounds), and the 5200 (with the
only pause button in this lot) - oh for shame Parker Brothers didn't program a
little bit more.

Just missed it: Atari 5200
(37), Atari 8bit (39)
Who would have guessed that the only version with a pause button would be the
Atari 5200. A nice bonus, but a pause doesn't help when you're reaching for the
reset button constantly. I thought that the Atari 8bit would fair better, but
its graphics are usually lagging behind. Nothing's really wrong with this
version, which like the C64 (and I think TI), can also be found on disk. Play
the 8 bit version if you enjoy the 5200, but are frustrated or controller
impaired.

Gold Medal: Colecovision (40).
TI 99/4A (40), C64 (40)
These guys are all winners, and I could not break the tie by 1 point. All 7
versions could have been improved in Gameplay with a pause, or adding any other
options. Seems like Parker Brothers just stiffed Popeye as we all know that
these machines are more capable. I'd need to play these games a lot more to pick
a single winner, but I'm leaning towards the CV right now - despite its sprite
overlap problem. I almost gave the C64 the Gold as its Controls pretty much
warrant a 10 for the smoothness and fewest problems - but I "wimped"
out. BTW, Wimpy does make his appearance in round 3. The TI made a fine first
appearance here, and I know now how correct many of you are regarding the
quality of the TI arcade games - they're really well done - based on the 5+ I
have. I hope that my TI PE box and new floppy drive ($6 at the CCAG 2001) will
work OK, especially since a local TI group has some disk games and maybe cart
games that will really help keep TI games showing up in this column. Finally,
many thanks to Harry for getting me a TI 99/4A Popeye in time for this review.

(Come back next month when I either do a
catch-up of missed opportunities on the TI 99/4A, and/or attempt to do a review
of the Many Faces of Spy Hunter for the Atari 2600, Atari 8bit, Colecovision and
Commodore 64. Alan Hewston, who's most wanted item is a 5200 Masterplay
Interface, can be reached at Hewston95@stratos.net).

Whew! CCAG 2001 is in the history books. What
a dramatic improvement from last year-and still no problems with the Armory’s
power supply! I had to sweat a little every time a new person plugged in, and
when we turned the arcade machines on!

A little bit of rain, but not bad at all. A
very long 24 hours for me, with some interesting things going on in the
background-such as a Bobcat machine left in the back corner of the Armory!
Fortunately that was removed Friday evening.

Had a blast seeing everyone, and especially
the guys from the UK. Nick and I got along great and we have similar
backgrounds! Will be good to see him again next year. We also made the front
page of the Monday Plain Dealer Business section! I was also told we came really
close to being on the front page of the Sunday edition! To everyone who had a
hand in CCAG-Tom, Thomas, Fred, Martin, Jeff, and Michelle, thanks a million!
And, thank you to everyone who showed up!

But onward to the Devastator, and Treyonics!

The TI 99/4A has had a pretty good collection
of stuff to buy for it. So lets just list what was mostly available. I am doing
a separate article for the TI clones, so you Geneve and SNUG fans can breath
easy!

Joysticks: Of course TI had to have a
non-Atari compatible joystick setup. But, you could buy various adapters to play
your favorite Atari stick on the TI. TI’s own were not that bad, but for real
power gaming, you could get much better. Ron Marcus still sells the Competition
Joysticks and do well for the TI, check also Tex Comp Ltd too.

Speech Synthesizer: Great little product! TI
originally planned a series of modules to go with this, but they were canceled.
TE II cart with it’s text-to-speech was a great add-on. Too bad it was never
made for a faster baud rate. You could have speech in Extended Basic-and extend
the vocabulary as well, speech editor, and many educational and game carts took
advantage of the Speech Synthesizer. Rave made an excellent product that would
put the Speech Synthesizer into your PEB! I have one of these, and it worked
just great! And, less to connect to the side with as well! Also, this was the
only way for Geneve and the SNUG people to get speech.

Side-Ad-On Peripherals: TI’s original
peripherals all connected to the side of the computer. Yiikes! Made for an
EXTREMELY long desk! This included the 32K, Disk Drive Controller, RS232, PCODE,
and even the Video Controller. A Hex-Bus adapter was also planned, and even
advertised, but that never made it to the average user. Other third-party
hardware makers did go with side peripherals, but combining the parts all
together, which does make sense. Corcomp and Myarc are the major ones, and there
was makers of third-party side RS232 and 32K as well.

PEB Peripherals: These cards go into the
Peripheral Expansion Box. And most have a separate CRU address, and a DSR. These
also include the Video Controller card and the PCODE card.

Floppy Disk Controllers: TI’s own was able
to have up to 3 180K dssd 5¼” floppies. MYARC and Corcomp would allow up to
4 dsdd floppies, and boy at that time what a difference that was! The BWG card
from Germany is a clone of the Corcomp card.

Ramdisks: Solid-state floppies! Horizon made
many flavors. A group from Australia made an excellent one. Rave, Myarc, even
Foundation’s card could be turned into a more-usable Ramdisk.

Gram-emulators: Of course the Gram Kracker is
a cartridge port peripheral. But they all operate the same: allow the operation
of carts and often ROM’s in the device. GPL programmers go nuts over devices
like this, since the GPL interpreter is inside the TI, and you can have massive
amounts of GRAM to play with. Horizon made one, Cadd Electronics made the
Gramulator, and the SNUG group has an excellent one that is purely massive in
scope. These also allow the famous “Review Module Library” feature of the
TI.

Supercarts: Putting memory on the cart space
with a battery for an extra 8K. More a hobby item. But then again, what wasn’t!

Hard Disk Controllers: Myarc and WHT. Myarc
HFDC allowed you to have 3 hard disks, MFM, up to 134MB each. Trust me, even
20MB of hard disk is quite a bit for the TI. This also combined the disk
controller, so you could have 720K floppies, 1.44MB on the Geneve. Plus, there
was DSK1 emulation-setup on the home directory a directory named “DSK1” and
the system would look to that first, then go to the floppy drives! Real nice
feature. Problem was, the heat sinks on this were not good. Resolved the problem
myself by putting an old TI metal clamshell card around it. I have heard horror
stories of blackened PCB’s from the power regulators. Also, you really were
only good for 2 hard drives. WHT SCSI adapter allowed SCSI hard drives. Geneve
owners got theirs to work first, by having MDOS to work with it, then the
Germans fixed hardware bugs on the SCSI card to allow TI users to have SCSI hard
disks.

Expanded Memory Cards: More than 32K, via bank
switching and CRU/DSR control: RAMBO on the Horizon Ramdisks-but only the 8K
cart space was banked. The AMS/SuperAMS cards were non-DSR, CRU only for MAP
mode, expanded memory cards. They used a 74LS612(74HCT612 in the SuperAMS)
memory mapper chip. A complete system was provided, or you could manually
program the card. These live on in emulation and in the SNUG SGCPU card. Myarc’s
card could be turned into a 512K card for the Geneve, and Foundation allowed
banking as well.

80-Column: These used either a V9938 or a
V9958 chip with 128K-192K of video memory to allow TI users, with needed
software, to have true 80-column displays. Mostly used for GIF viewers, and of
course the word processing(Funellweb is the best known) and for terminal
emulation(Telco). You could get composite out with the V9938-yuck, but usable in
monochrome. Or you would need an RGB monitor, or the Video Turtle and an S-Video
TV. (I am slightly biased in the later option) These were either cards-Digit’s,
or side cars, Mechatronics. Also, the TIM was an easy and excellent 80-column
upgrade. You popped out the old 9918A chip, put in the TIM board, replaced some
GROMS with the SOB(Son of a Board) and you were good to go. Unfortunately, the
maker of the TIM./SOB had a bad habit of taking people’s money to eat, and not
delivering product! I guess I must have been luck with getting mine! A certain
user group was so hurt by this, they cloned the entire TIM and SOB for
themselves! The SNUG group also makes an 80-column card for use with there card
system. Some internal changes were needed to set the chips up correctly, since
you would always boot up in regular 9918A modes. And, TI didn’t follow their
own rules for VDP usage!

RS232 Cards: Finally, you need to print and to
go online with these! Unless you got into some real deep programming, they all
were basically the same. Yes Dan, I know about the Corcomp differences! TI,
Corcomp, and Myarc. A parallel port, and a serial port that could have 2
devices. Note: you could have two RS232 cards in the PEB! And, the system was
designed to have that! Just change a resistor and you could have a second card.

New PEB’s: A company called RAVE 99 made
alternative PEB’s that used IBM PC power supplies. This meant modifying your
cards, because the normal PEB power is unregulated, and the PC’s are
regulated. They came in several flavors, including one that allowed your TI to
be put into it! These became a big blessing to Geneve and HFDC owners, since the
weak power regulators were by-passed.

PC Keyboard Adapters: Rave 99 again made a
fine line of adapters that allowed you to have an external keyboard that was IBM
PC/XT compatible. All of the function keys were there, as well as several
others. I used one on my modified TI in an Amiga 500 case. WHT made an adapter
that allowed AT compatibility, that clipped onto your 9900 CPU.

Well, there are others that are prototypes, or
proto cards for development(the original AMS was made on one), or limited in
scope cards. I’ve decided to mention the ones that came out. I must say about
the proto card though. It was a well done product that made development much
easier. A little limited, but an excellent product.

That’s it for now! I was listening to Gustav
Holst “The Planets op 32” for this session. Especially “Mars Bringer of
War”! I guess for the SNUG card article, I’ll be listening the Wagner and
Die Valkuer!

(Hi, my name is Jim W. Krych. I am a 31 year
old technician, with an Electronics Diploma and a soon-to-be finished Computer
Programming and Operations Diploma. I am currently employed at the finest maker
of electrometers/nanovoltmeters/etc., and my particular product line that I work
on is the Source Measure Unit(SMU) models 236,237, and 238. I have a 23 month
old son, his name is Treyton. I enjoy retrogaming and things that go with that.
: ) My email address: jwkrych@n2net.net)

I have formed my own business! All other
projects prior to this were carried by other companies, so this time it’s all
in my hands, with a lot of prayer and help from others! The company’s name is
Treyonics, in honor of my son!!! Our flagship product is the Treyonics Home
Controller System, Model 9908, better known as the……....

Follow the link below to see what it takes to make it on the list of over
2000 Classic Home Video Games. OK, it took me a while to get this massive project going, and Tom never expected me to waste my time like this. And then after I got things rolling I kept finding more things to research, and then waited a while for the Digital Press Guide V6 to be released...This list of over 2000 classic home video games would have been nice to arrive before 2001 did, but I never got my home page functional in time either. The list is in MS Excel format.

The content is work in progress, but hopefully can be improved with
constructive feedback from you. Potential changes (you'll see my notes) are for some carts that may not really be games, or if listed twice, or are pirated games, or only have slight mods to an earlier game. Some may have multiple games within the cart, thus I need to expand and include all its games. I decided it best to keep this unpolished monster off Tom's site, until it looks a little more cleaned up. Hope that you enjoy it anyway, and feel free to tell me how many games I missed, not to mention all the rarer systems that I omitted, like Odyssey 3, Sega SC3000, Fountain...Maybe I should just delete all the systems with fewer than 25 games to make it simpler? Let me know.

(Alan Hewston, who really uses this li"st for the "Many Faces of " database, and has shared much of this info to help revise Tom's "Arcade Conversions" can be reached at Hewston95@stratos.net).

Now that CCAG is done, it is time to promote
the biggest classic game show! The Classic Gaming Expo is gearing up to be
a major event! Here is some of the latest news:

*The developers of the new
Dragon's Lair game will be on hand to debut the highly anticipated game! I
know that I am highly interested in this game and look forward to hearing about
it.

*There will be a ton of new
classic games for sale at the show! Some new Colecovision games, including
Pacman, Joust and Dig Dug! There will also be some limited edition games,
that will only be available at the show.

*Ralph Baer, the father of
video games will once again be on hand. If you have not met this true
genius and gentleman, then you should plan a trip, just for this
reason.

*A bunch of arcade games
will be on hand to play! They are all set for unlimited play, so you have
no reason to not try and set a new high score!

For all the latest information on the CGE,
check out their official website at:

After a month hiatus, it is time to bring back
one of the most popular columns. Once again we dig in our virtual bag of
sites and pull out two more to shine the spotlight on. Check them out and
keep suggesting sites.

Arcade VillageI am a sucker for these little Java games. You know the ones
you play online without any downloading involved. Well, here is another
site that has a stack of these little games to play. They have around 15
games to play, ranging from classics like Space Invaders and Q*Bert to the ever
popular Tetris.

Have two players at your house? Well,
they also offer some two player games for you! Plus, they also have some
games you can download onto your computer. So if you are looking for some
mindless fun and don't want to clog your hard drive, then check out Arcade
Village. Here is the URL:

Rob Patton's TI PageWhile there is alot of different pages available on Rob's excellent
site, the TI 99/4A page is among the best! Rob has a ton of great
information, including a bunch on the great Milton Bradley MBX unit, which is
both innovative and very collectible.

This section features a rarity guide of the
TI, which is really cool! But it is the extensive coverage of the MBX
unit, a unit that I am happy to own, that really caught my attention.
Finding anything about this very rare unit is tough, but here is a plethora of
information. If you are lucky enough to own one of these very rare units,
you need to check out this page and find out a little about the MBX. By
the way, check out the other stuff that Rob has on his site. While he is
in the midst of moving stuff and redoing pages, the ones that are working are
very good and well worth checking out! Here is the URL:

This is an offer that any classic game fan
would have a hard time saying no to. The chance to go and play free arcade
games, especially classic ones is a dream come true! Well, if you are in
Twin City area, at the Mall of the Americas, this weekend, then this is the show
for you! Here is a press release about this great time and it is all
free! Can you say "ROAD TRIP!!!!!"

Console, PC and Arcade Games Promoted at Twin Galaxies' Video Game Festival at Mall of America

To celebrate its 20th Anniversary, The Twin Galaxies Intergalactic Scoreboard has gone to the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota to create a major party for the electronic gaming hobby: Twin Galaxies' Video Games Festival, which is a three-day celebration of the greatest games and gaming systems produced in the last twenty years.

Taking up nearly 5,000 sq. ft. in the Mall's Sam Goody Center during the weekend of July 20-22, 2001, the Festival will feature contests, prizes, famous video game superstars and lots of opportunity to play the latest, most popular titles. Filled with games galore - all on free play for the public to enjoy, the Video Game Festival will showcase hot new game titles not-yet-released as well as many of the gaming industry's most legendary games, from PC-based titles to classic console and arcade games of yesteryear.

Among the top events at the show are an Official Console Video Game World Championship.

In addition to tables and tables of home consoles set on free play, featuring a wide variety of game titles such as Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Crazy Taxi and Gran Turismo, the public is invited to compete in The Official Console Video Game World Championship, which will crown World Champions on the following games: Twisted Metal: Black and SSX for the PlayStation 2, Super Smash Brothers, Mario Kart 64 and WWF No Mercy for the Nintendo 64, and Marvel vs. Capcom 2 for the Dreamcast. And, if
there is enough demand, additional contests may be added on Perfect
Dark, Golden Eye, Crazy Taxi, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater and many more.

Also, major contests are planned for PC gamers.

STOMPED.COM, a well-established web site that enjoys worldwide fame due to its local Minneapolis gaming center, The Stomping Grounds, will sponsor major championships on the world's top PC titles: Age of Empires, Counter Strike and Quake 3. The Counter Strike event, in particular, will be recognized as a qualifying event for the World Championships sponsored by the CyberAthlete League (CPL).

If you are reading this
newsletter, then there is a good chance that you go searching for classic
games. If you are lucky enough to have a flea market nearby, then you know
that this can be a very rewarding or a fruitless place to find classic
games. But if you are like the rest of us, even a flea market that is
mostly barren, will keep us coming back with the hope of a big score.
Well, this article will show you some games to keep you occupied and make a
dreary trip to the flea market, a little more enjoyable.

The first game that you can
play at a flea market is the timeless classic, the Scavenger Hunt! The
first thing to keep in mind is that you only need to find the items and not have
to actually purchase them. Noone should have to own New Kids on the Block
items and I would never ask you to make such a supreme sacrifice.

I broke the Scavenger Hunt
into three categories. They are Easy, Medium and Hard. You get one
point for each item in the easy category that you find, two for each medium and
three for each hard. Tally up at the end and see how you scored.
There are a few bonus items too.

Hard01. Any video game
magazine other than Next Generation, Nintendo Power or EGM.
02. A T-Shirt you would actually consider wearing.
03. Any game system Sega Genesis or older in the original box.
04. A handheld that is older than 1990.
05. A Bee Gees album other than Saturday Night Fever or a Michael Jackson album
other than Thriller.

High and LowThis second game is where
you take an item and see what the highest and the lowest prices offered for the
same item are. Here are a few items that seem to vary greatly in
price. Feel free to add your own.

The countdown to issue 50 is underway.
We are getting very near. I have not thought of anything special to do for
the issue. If you have any ideas, please send them along.

I do apologize for not starting a prose story
as I spoke of last month. Also, I never did finish the "Wild Cart
Kingdom" story. Last month was hectic with the CCAG show and going on
vacation, so I never did get around to them. But I will do them next
month, honest!

Also, check back next month for a review of
"Phoenix, The Fall and Rise of Video Games". Also, check back for a
review of some of the classic game compilations that have come out
recently. I will give you the skinny on the Atari Collection on the Sega
Dreamcast, the Konami Collection on the Playstation and more.

Thanks for stopping by and reading another
issue of Retrogaming Times. Until next month, keep those joysticks firing
and clean your carts! A dirty cart is an angry cart and there is already
too much anger in the world.

(This month, I have been enjoying a trip down
memory lane. Decided to recapture a part of my childhood. I have
purchased some Funny Face mugs off eBay. Anyone remember the competitor to
Kool Aid? If not, look on eBay and see what new junk I am bidding on).